Master of the North Wind
by perfect oblivion
Summary: Sasuke fatally wounds Naruto at the VOTE. Kyuubi sacrifices his own life to save Naruto, and casts him into the world of pokemon, where the blonde finds himself an unusual adopted sister.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Naruto gazed up at the moonlit sky while lying in a forest, a forest that was dying and withering all around him. It had happened, Sasuke had beaten him, and rammed that black chidori of his right through his heart. The bastard had even been laughing that he had done it, and the last thing Naruto had seen before slipping into his mindscape was the bastard's eyes change into their new Mangekyou form. Turning his head, he saw Kyuubi staring at him in silence.

"I failed fox, I couldn't keep my promise, I couldn't become Hokage, I couldn't get the villagers to acknowledge me." Said Naruto, defeat gripping his every word. Never before had Kyuubi seen Naruto so broken, so devoid of his usual fire. It was like the blonde had completely given up.

"I'm sorry as well, Naruto." Said the fox. "Without me, you would have had a family. Without me, you wouldn't have been so hated and reviled. I'm so sorry." Regret and self loathing billowed around the fox like a storm cloud.

"It's not your fault fox, you were being controlled when you attacked the leaf village, and you didn't kill mom on purpose. You didn't want to be sealed up again, so when dad used reaper death seal, you panicked." Over the years, Naruto and Kyuubi had become friends, and Kyuubi had told Naruto of his parent's seeing as the blonde's mother had been his previous prison. He had also told Naruto why he had attacked the leaf village that night, and what had happened. Naruto let out a long sigh.

"I just wish I could've lived a better life you know. One without all the pain and suffering I had to endure." As the mindscape forest started to completely wither, Kyuubi had a thought. After mulling it over a bit, he nodded to himself, and gathered the entirety of his power. Naruto sensed the Kyuubi drawing on all its chakra, and was confused by the action.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"I'm using the entirety of my power to split open dimension itself, then I'll thrust you into it." Kyuubi replied. This got Naruto's attention.

"What will happen?"

"You'll be sent to a different world altogether, though I don't have any idea where you'll be sent, I just hope it isn't a world like ours."

"Will you be coming?" At this Kyuubi shook its head.

"Unfortunately I can't Naruto. The amount of power it will take to rip open the dimensions, cast you into them and heal you enough for you to survive, will kill me once I use it." Naruto's eyes widened.

"No, you can't. You're the only friend I have. If it's gonna kill you anyway, why not let us both die." Kyuubi shook his head.

"You don't understand Naruto, with me in your soul you'll be cast straight into hell, even though you're the purest soul I've ever seen. This will kill me, but at least I can save you from an eternity of suffering that you should never have to endure." Naruto was speechless, then he started chuckling hollowly.

"Ironic isn't it. The same monster that everybody says I am, the same monster that has caused nothing but grief in my life, is doing more for me than any other person alive." Kyuubi smiled hollowly at the remark, then he felt his power peak.

"All right Naruto, this is it. It's been fun while it lasted. I just hope you'll get what you've been denied your whole life." And with that, there was a colossal explosion of red chakra, then everything went black.

…...

Deep within Verity forest, a ball of crimson lightning appeared in the air, disturbing the otherwise tranquil night. It hovered for a moment, popping and crackling, then shrunk to the size of a pin head, then let off a flash of red light and disappeared. Lying on the ground that had been beneath the ball, was Naruto. After a few minutes, the blonde began to stir, and he opened his cerulean blue eyes. Rising up off the ground, Naruto took in his surroundings. The new world he was in didn't look all that strange, if he didn't know better he would've thought he was in the forests surrounding his old home village. Then he heard a scream, and turned his head sharply to the source. The scream sounded again, even more frantic than last time, and Naruto rushed to the location of it. When he got there he stopped in shock. There was some kind of animal on the ground, blood gushing from both a gaping wound in its shoulder and a fist sized hole in its side. Two men stood over the downed creature, one held a knife and the other held a strange weapon he had never seen before, though that was not what had his attention. There was a much smaller version of the downed creature, obviously a child, trying to rouse its parent. Strange thing was though, he could hear it talk.

"Please mom, get up, you've got to. Please get up." The little child cried. Then one of the men started speaking, and it occurred to Naruto that these men could not understand the creature, as they made no reaction.

"Damn, was she tough to bring down. Shame we had to kill her. Oh well, we still got the pup, that'll be worth millions." Naruto's blood started boiling, these men had slaughtered a mother and were going to capture her child for money. The former ninja felt around on his person and found two kunai. Just enough. The two men started approaching the small animal with a net, the child fearfully backing away.

"Now now, don't worry, we won't-" that was as far as the man got before a kunai found its way into his skull. The other man turned sharply, only to receive a kunai straight between the eyes. Both men fell to the ground dead, and Naruto stepped out of the bushes he had been hiding behind. The child noticed him and fearfully kept close to it's mother.

"Mom, please get up. There's another one here." Now that all his attention was on the two animals he started taking their appearances in. They were quadrupedal, and looked canine. Their fur was pale blue with white diamond shaped spots on their sides. Their underbelly was white, along with the backs of their legs. Two white ribbon-like tails flowed from behind them and seemed to flutter at their sides in an imaginary breeze, though the parent's tails were still and lifeless. They had a horn structure that was shaped like a crystal, and both had a thick mane flowing down their backs, though the parent's was purple and the child's a rich blue.

"Calm down child, I'm not here to hurt you. I don't think your mother will be getting up any time soon."

"You...can...understand us... human?" Said the mother weakly.

"Mommy." exclaimed the child, and she nuzzled and pushed against her mother in an effort to rouse her from the ground.

"Yes I can," said Naruto, and he glanced at the child, "and I'm sorry for not making it here sooner, I might have been able to save you."

"I see," said the mother, and she too glanced at her child, "Human..."

"It's Naruto."

"Naruto... I have...a favour...to ask. Watch... over my...daughter...protect...and care...for her...in my stead. I can...sense your...pure soul... and I know... you will not...take...advantage... of her." Naruto was silent, as he watched the child try to push up her mother, innocently unaware her mother was dying.

"I'll do it." said Naruto.

"Thank...you." and with that, the mother's eyes closed, and she passed away. Naruto watched the child as she pushed against her mother's body, then he went over and gently picked her up.

"No," she said, as she struggled against Naruto, "we can't leave mommy."

"I'm sorry child, but I'm afraid your mother is no longer with us." Replied Naruto.

"What do you mean? She's right there."

"Her body is child, but her soul has gone to be with the god of this world." Naruto saw that this had carried the message across, and the child understood. Naruto felt the animal's body shudder, and then the child cried, for hours it cried, with Naruto holding her close, silently crying as well.

…...

**A/N:**

**And that's a wrap people. Short I know, but I like it. I made Kyuubi a bastard in my previous crossover, so I decided to make him a good guy in this one, though he dies in both fics. Remember to review, oh and favorite this too.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It had been two years since Naruto appeared in this new world of his. The day after meeting those strange animals and promising to take care of the child, Naruto had gone to the nearest town and looked for work, seeing as he had no money. After checking around the town, Sandgem it was called, Naruto met an elderly man willing to let the boy work for him keeping his lab cleaned and other janitorial details. This lasted a week, and in that week, Naruto learned a bit about this new world he was in. Apparently this world was inhabited by strange creatures known as pokemon. He also learned a great deal about pokemon, seeing as his employer was a world renowned pokemon professor. A week after his employer, professor Rowan, had hired him, he spied Naruto talking to a Staraptor as if he was talking to another person. Later, Rowan asked Naruto in private if he could actually understand what pokemon were saying, which Naruto hesitantly confirmed. Since then, Naruto had helped Rowan tremendously with his ability. Now he was one of Rowan's greatest assistants.

Naruto had also kept his promise to the pokemon mother, which after working with Rowan for a while discovered it was a Suicune, and had cared for and raised her child. Naruto always made sure she was fed and safe, and helped her learn to defend herself should the need arise. After a month of raising her, she had started calling him brother. The action was both foreign and heartwarming to Naruto, and soon he started referring to his charge as his sister. After two years, his Suicune sister, who he had named Aurora, was nearly full grown. We now find Naruto finishing up his work at the lab, and preparing to leave for home.

"Be seeing you tomorrow Naruto." Said Rowan.

"Will do professor. If any of the pokemon are giving you trouble, you know where to find me." With that, Naruto was out the door. No longer did Naruto wear that old orange jumpsuit. He now wore black cargo pants, a grey T-shirt with a white pokeball design on the back and front, and white and blue sneakers. After doing a bunch of shopping, Naruto headed into the woods and headed home. After ten minutes, he made it home. It was a medium sized log cabin situated in a large clearing in the pine forest. On one side of the cabin was a stone chimney, and on the other side was a large gas tank for his gas stove and water heater.

"Sis, I'm home." Said Naruto as he opened the door and stepped inside. Setting the groceries on the table, Naruto looked into the living and saw his Suicune sister.

"Hello brother, how was work?" Asked Aurora as she walked into the kitchen.

"Never boring that's for sure." Said Naruto as he started putting the groceries away. Once he was done putting everything away, Naruto went into the living room and sat down in his armchair. The living room comprised of a chimney, an armchair, a sofa and a large bookcase. A medium sized window served to let natural light into the room. Soon the sun was starting to set, and Naruto and Aurora were getting hungry. Heading to the kitchen, Naruto started preparing dinner for himself and his sister. Naruto wasn't the best cook when it came to human food, but his pokemon food recipes were unmatched by anyone in Sinnoh. As Naruto's soup simmered, he whipped up some food for Aurora, who was delighted to see that it was her favorite blend. The soup was finished the same as the pokemon food, so Naruto served up Aurora, then helped himself to a bowl. The two ate while talking about how their day went. When they ate their fill, Naruto washed the dishes and returned to the living room to read a book, the room painted a dull orange from the setting sun's rays. Just as the twilight was waning, Naruto felt something, a sort of pull. Naruto ignored it, but soon the pull got stronger.

"Sis, do you sense something strange?" asked the blonde. Aurora closed her eyes, and used her slight psychic abilities to check for anomalies. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

"A psychic type pokemon is sending out a distress call, and from the feel of it, it needs help immediately." Naruto got to his feet and grabbed his two kunai from the mantle, then he headed out the door, his sister right behind him.

"Aurora, no. You stay here."

"I'm coming too big brother whether you like it or not, besides, you need me to guide you to where the signal's coming from." Naruto had to concede seeing as she was right.

"Fine, but you have to be careful." Aurora nodded, and led the way. Due to his ninja training, Naruto was just as fast as his sister, and the two shot through the forest like an unimpeded bullet. The two soon came to Lake Verity, and were close to the source of the psychic distress call.

"The call's coming from the other side of the lake, where those small cliffs are." said Aurora, and pointed her snout in the indicated direction.

"No time to go around the lake, we'll have to run across." said Naruto. Aurora nodded and dashed out onto the surface of the water, easily running across it like it was solid ground. Naruto applied chakra to his feet and shot across the water after his sister. In two minutes they had reached the other side, and had made it to the cliffs. Naruto noticed a black vehicle parked a little ways away.

"Aurora, stay here. I think there are poachers around."

"Poachers! Let me at them! I'll tear them apart!" Aurora made to dash to the cliffs, but Naruto grabbed her horn structure and held her back.

"No Aurora. I know how much you hate poachers, but you aren't strong enough to fight two or more armed men."

"I don't care, I'll kill at least one of them!"

"Aurora, no! I'll handle this."

"You always say you'll handle them, but you just knock them out. You never kill them. Why do you never kill them!" Naruto gazed at his frenzied sister solemnly, causing her to calm down somewhat.

"Because I've seen enough death and bloodshed." replied the blonde. Aurora flinched at her brother's world weary voice, and calmed fully. Aurora hated the way her brother sounded when he was like that, it just wasn't right. Naruto was a laid back, friendly person with a penchant for mischief, so when he spoke in that tone it felt so wrong. Naruto had told her all about his past, and whenever he spoke like that it reminded her of all the pain he had been burdened with.

"I'm sorry big brother." she said quietly, "It's just... mom was killed by poachers, and ever since then I've always hated them from the depths of my heart."

"I understand sis, I understand." said Naruto, and he let go of his sister's horn structure. "Now as I said before, let me handle this, and keep out of sight. We don't want anybody knowing about you." Aurora nodded, and retreated into some bushes, and Naruto headed to the cliffs. When he got to them he saw some small caves embedded into them, most likely used by hibernating pokemon in the winter, and Luxray families in the spring and summer. Heading to the nearest one, Naruto heard voices coming from the cave, along with cruel laughs and screams of pain. Eyes widening, Naruto rushed to the cave and peered inside. What he saw horrified him. In the cave was a pokemon very rarely seen in the world, a Latias. The eon pokemon looked different than the ones in the pictures he had seen in books. Instead of the normal red plumage, this one was as yellow as his hair. But it wasn't her coloring that had his attention, it was her condition. Welts and horrible looking slashes covered her body, indicating she had been repeatedly lashed. Huge bruises could be seen through her white feathers, and one of her eyes had completely swollen shut. Her left wing was bent in a bunch of weird angles, indicating multiple breakages. It was what the men were doing now however, that made Naruto's blood boil. The two men had high voltage tasers attached to the suffering pokemon, and were pumping her full of electricity, laughing while they did it.

"Please...no more... I'll be good." pleaded the dragon, only to get shocked again. Naruto had had enough. Creeping silently up behind the two men, he whipped out his kunai and plunged them into both men's necks. They fell to the ground, gurgling up blood as the tried to speak their last words. Ripping the kunai out of their necks, and watching with satisfaction as the light left their eyes, Naruto went out of the cave to call his sister.

"Sis, Get over here now!" he shouted, and as swift as the north wind, Aurora appeared. She stared in horror at the tortured Latias, then she saw the bodies of the poachers and snarled, which turned into a growl of satisfaction when she saw they were dead.

"I see you killed them brother, I only wish you made it more painful for them."

"I didn't want to draw attention. Maul the bodies sis, make them so unrecognizable they'll have to use blood samples."

"With pleasure." said Aurora, and dragged the bodies outside. Naruto then started tending to the Latias, who had fallen unconscious at some point earlier. Naruto knew he couldn't treat her injuries here, but he could at least reset the wing. Two minutes later, the Latias' wing had been reset and straightened, and the taser wires removed. Naruto then lifted her up as gently as he could, and carried her out of the cave, just as Aurora came back, her snout and forepaws red with blood and gore.

"Alright Aurora, we've got to get back home as fast as we can. This Latias needs treatment now." said Naruto with urgency. Aurora nodded, and the two ran full tilt back to their home, Naruto keeping pace with his sister despite the load he was carrying, and neither impeded by the forest despite the darkness of the night. Soon the two made it back to their home, and rushed inside.

"Sis, get the medical supplies right now." Naruto commanded, and his sister rushed to obey. In the span of a minute, Naruto had all his medical supplies. Being Rowan's assistant, Naruto made sure to have an extensive medical cabinet, which included various specialized medicines, a portable defibrillator, and various surgical materials. With all his supplies at the ready, Naruto layed the Latias on the floor of his living room and got to work, hoping that the Latias survived.

…...

The sound of chirping Starly and the sunlight behind her eyelids roused the Latias from her slumber. Opening her jade green eyes and blinking slowly to adjust to the sunlight, she started taking in her surroundings. She looked to be inside a human dwelling.

_'Have I been captured?' _she thought to herself. Then she remembered. She had been caught by those two humans, but managed to get away. They had chased her all over the country, not giving her a minute's respite. After three weeks of being constantly on the move, she finally had to stop. She stopped by a lake to drink and catch a Magikarp to eat, but unfortunately her pursuers had caught up to her, and had captured her again. After that all she remembered was pain, then nothing.

"I see you're awake." said a female voice, and Latias turned her head to the voice, and saw a Suicune. She tried getting up, but the action caused a wave of pain to rip through her body, and she stopped immediately.

"You shouldn't move, you were in very bad condition when we found you." said the Suicune.

"Where am I?" asked the Latias.

"You're in my brother's den, he was the one who saved you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Five days." Latias' eyes widened.

"That long?" Aurora nodded.

"Yes, my brother was extremely worried about it too. While he was healing you, your heart went out of control, so he had to shock you directly in the heart to stabilize it. He was quite worried that it took you so long to wake up, he thought you had gone comatose." Then Latias' stomach gave of a loud rumble, and she blushed in embarrassment. Aurora grinned in amusement.

"I see you're hungry. Can't blame you, good thing my brother left some berries for you. Be right back." With that, the Suicune went into a different room, and came back with a large bowl full of berries.

"There you are, he wasn't sure what you liked so he put in a bit of everything." Aurora then placed the bowl within easy reach of the Latias, and went to lie down on the couch. A few minutes later, Latias heard a strange sound, then someone called into the house.

"Sis I'm home." said the voice.

"In the living room brother, our guest is awake." the Suicune replied. Due to the Suicune's explanation of the shocking her heart had needed, Latias was expecting a Raikou, or at the very least another Suicune. Therefore, it had surprised her greatly when a human walked into the room. Due to all her experiences with humans being bad ones, Latias was extremely frightened, but the Suicune had said that her brother had healed her, and she had referred to this human as her brother. She decided to wait a bit before she acted, and use her emphatic abilities to read the human's emotional state while he was around her before she jumped to conclusions.

"So how are you feeling?" asked Naruto, confusing the Latias.

"It's not like you'll be able to understand me." said the Latias. Naruto just grinned.

"That's where you're wrong. I can understand you." Latias just gaped.

"Well, I'm still quite sore, but other than that I feel fine." replied the Latias, "But how can you understand me?"

"Don't know really, but I've always been able to do it." replied Naruto. "So why weren't you with your drove? Surely they could have protected you." At this, Latias gave a humorless chuckle.

"My drove? My drove abandoned me to the Houndoom the first chance they got. Amongst my kind, those with my coloring are considered bad omens and attractors of disaster, and as such must be rid of before they bring destruction to the drove. They threw me away when I was but a year old. It was winter, and it was much colder then normal. A quarter of the drove froze to death, and the elders blamed it on me. I was cast out shortly after, my own brother even tried to kill me while my parents approved of his action. I was never shown how to defend myself, nor fend for myself. It was a wonder I even survived." As she talked, Latias could sense the emotions roiling within Naruto as he listened, and what she felt surprised her. She could feel hatred and disgust for her drove, pity and sorrow for her, but the biggest one was understanding. Latias internally snorted, he may think he understood, but she was doubtful he fully understood.

"Well, that's enough bad memories relived for one day, I'm just glad you're okay. You took a lot of punishment from those poachers. Just rest, and you should be fine within a few days time." And with that, Naruto left the room and disappeared around the corner.

"So why do you call him your brother when he obviously isn't?" Latias asked Aurora. The Suicune shrugged.

"Just because we're not related by blood or species doesn't make him any less my brother. Two years ago, when I was just a pup, my mother was mortally wounded by poachers. They were going to capture me, and sell me to the highest bidder. Before they could though, Naruto killed them. My mother's last words were a plea for him to take care of me, and he did so. He always made sure I was fed and safe. It was extremely difficult for him in the beginning, seeing as he had no idea what to do. He always made sure I was taken care of, even if he had to go hungry or be in discomfort himself. He managed to save enough money to get us this place before winter hit, and things became easier on him. I say that makes him a brother to me." Latias just snorted.

"Oh please, you actually think he's doing this out of kindness? He takes care of you so that he can have bragging rights for owning a legendary with unique coloring. If you were a common pokemon he wouldn't have spared you a second glance." Aurora snarled and leaped off the couch.

"Watch what you say girl. You're still recovering, you wouldn't want to have any setbacks now, would you."

"Please, you know what I say is true. I bet he put you in one of those prisons, what do humans call them, oh yes pokeballs. Am I right?"

"True he did, only to make sure I could never be captured by anyone else."

"More like so no one could take his prize from him. Face it, he's just using you for fame and fortune."

Aurora snarled in fury and was about to attack, but stopped, and started laughing humorlessly.

"Oh I see now, you're jealous. You're jealous that I'm just like you, but I've got someone who cares about me. I'm a different color than other Suicunes, and it infuriates you that I have someone who actually cares for me, yet you're treated like dirt."

"I am not jealous!" Latias screeched. Suicune just smirked and walked away, leaving Latias to herself.

"I am not jealous." Latias repeated to herself. '_Then why does it hurt so much, seeing them happy together?' _said a little voice in her mind as she fell asleep.

…...

Night had fallen, and all occupants had fallen asleep, though one's sleep had become fitful. Naruto's eyes slowly opened, and he looked at the digital clock by his bed. It read 12:30 am. It was the middle of the night, and he had _that _feeling. Getting up, Naruto headed to Aurora's room. When he entered, he saw her thrashing, and muttering. It was obvious she was having a nightmare. She got them from time to time, not that Naruto could blame her. Having your mother die right in front of you was a pretty traumatizing event. Naruto gently shook her awake, and her ruby eyes snapped open.

"Big brother?"she asked.

"Shh, shh, it's alright, it was just a nightmare." Aurora was shedding a few tears at this point.

"It was awful, I dreamt... I dreamt..."

"About that time when your mother died, right?" Then to Naruto's concern, she shook her head.

"I dreamt you were just using me, that all these years of caring for me were just a means to make me loyal to you, just so that you could brag that you had a legendary." Naruto's eyes widened in concern. That was something entirely new.

"Why in Arceus' name would you think that? I would never do that to you, ever." Silence hung in the air, accompanied by Aurora's sniffling. Finally, she spoke.

"Earlier today, Latias told me that the only reason you ever cared about me was because I was a legendary, nothing more. She said that you only want me so you could brag that you have a legendary pokemon under your command." Again Naruto's eyes widened.

"I would never do that to you. I would never, ever, take advantage of you like that. I care about you, I love you like a sister, never think I would use you for my own gain."

"You promise?" asked Aurora, in a more hopeful voice.

"That's a promise Aurora, and you know I never break those." replied Naruto. Aurora seemed to visibly relax at that.

"Now then how 'bout I sing you a lullaby, to calm your troubled mind hmm?" asked Naruto.

"Big brother, I'm not a pup anymore, I don't need to be sung to sleep." said Aurora, though Naruto could tell she wanted to be sung to.

"Aw, but it's your favorite. I'll sing it anyway." Then he cleared his throat, and began to sing.

(Insert Laruto's lament by Alisa)

"Ad Idem

Ad Infinitum

In Memoriam

Cor Unum

Vie et armis

Vale"

Over and over, Naruto sung that poem. Soon, Aurora's eyes closed and she returned to peaceful slumber.

"Sleep well my little sister." said Naruto, and he returned to his room to get back to sleep. When all was silent, a third presence made made herself known. Latias had woken a little later after Naruto had, and feeling significantly less sore, managed to levitate with no pain. She had rendered herself invisible and had eavesdropped on the two sibling's conversation. Latias heard everything, and felt everything. She had felt Naruto's concern, his compassion, his love for his adopted sister.

_'His feelings say he cares about her far beyond her being a prize, but that's all humans care about. All they want is power, power and fame.' _Using her psychic abilities, Latias silently opened the door to Naruto's room. After making sure he was asleep, she gently rested a paw on his brow.

_'Now I'll know for sure. He may be able to falsify his feelings, but he cannot hide his memories and innermost thoughts. This will let me know for certain.' _With that, Latias closed her eyes and delved into Naruto's mind. One second passed, then two, and on the third second, Latias' eyes snapped open and she retracted her paw like it was on fire. Panting quietly but heavily, Latias exited the room and silently closed the door. Then, she rushed back to her bed, and lay back down.

_'Was that really his life? Was he really all alone?' _Then that one memory she had seen surfaced, and she couldn't help but shudder. Those eyes, those evil red eyes, full of hatred and madness. The worst part was that she had been able to experience everything that went on in that memory. She had felt that last attack pierce through her chest, ripping through flesh and bone, and obliterating her heart. Then as if her very own mind wanted her to suffer, she saw the face of her brother, only this time, he had those eyes, and he was the one who shoved that black electrical attack through her. Using all her will, she managed to force the memories down, and finally her head was clear, but she couldn't stop shivering, she couldn't stop crying. All the pain and loneliness of Naruto's past was amplifying her own, bearing down on her with overwhelming force, threatening to break her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to regain control of herself, and soon her tears stopped, and her tremors ceased.

_'Maybe he really does understand.' _she thought to herself. After making sure she was in control of her emotions, she started reviewing Naruto's memories of when he came into guardianship of Aurora, and when she found what she was looking for, she cried. She cried until she had no tears left, and fell into a fitful slumber.

…...

Aurora awoke with a yawn. After stretching the lingering tiredness from her body, she headed for the living room with a smirk on her her face, ready to take on that home wrecker of a dragon. As soon as she got there though she immediately noticed that something was very wrong with Latias. Yesterday her eyes had been bright and full of fire. Now they were dark and dull, devoid of life. Another thing different was her posture. Yesterday, she had been defiant, ready to strike out against anything. Now she just laid there, looking completely and utterly defeated.

"Are you here to gloat?" asked Latias, locking her dull eyes with Aurora's.

"Wha-what happened to you?" asked Aurora, in complete shock. Latias just let off a humorless chuckle.

"It must be nice, having someone who cares about you. Not having to live in constant fear that your family may be hunting you down to finish you off. Not having to worry about a human that'll just use you, though that might not be so bad."

"What do you mean? Why would you even think that." Again Latias just chuckled humorlessly.

"Because, even if I was being used, it would still be a purpose. I'd still be necessary."

"Is that really the kind of life you would wish to live though?" asked Naruto as he entered the living room. "I had a friend who-"

"Haku." replied Latias, and Naruto immediately went silent.

"How did you know that?" Latias cast her dull eyes back to watching the floor.

"I looked into your mind last night. I had heard you talking to your sister, and I wanted to see if you really meant it. When I saw what happened two years ago, it confused me. It was like you just abruptly appeared here, so I looked farther back, and ended up seeing your entire past."

"Are you all right? There are things in my past that could drive people mad."

"I'll be alright, though some things will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life." Naruto was silent for a moment, then he spoke.

"Did you really mean that? Do you really want to be used?" Latias returned her dull gaze to Naruto's eyes.

"Not really, but anything's better than this loneliness. Surely you can understand." Naruto looked away from those eyes, eyes that were once his own. He could definitely understand where this Latias was coming from, but he also knew how to end it.

"If you're really so adamant about it, why not stay here then." That got Latias' attention.

"Why? I mean, I tried to set your sister against you, why would you allow me into your home when I tried to destroy it?" Naruto just smiled his foxy grin.

"Because, I can forgive, and I'm willing to forgive you. I know what you're feeling, I honestly do, so I'm giving you a way out of it. The question is, do you want out?" Latias gazed at Naruto, a bit of brightness returning to her gaze.

"Are you going to use me?" she asked, and Naruto shook his head.

"You should know I don't use people, I'm just too loyal to do that." Latias chuckled, a real one this time.

"If I'm going to stay then I have one request. That you make me strong enough to protect myself from anything." Once again Naruto flashed his famous foxy grin.

"I promise, and I never go back on my word."

"Because that's your ninja way." said Latias, and it was like her changes were never there in the first place. Once again her eyes burned bright and she looked ready to fight. "Well I guess that's it, I'm your pokemon now. You going to capture me?"

"I guess I have to do that huh. Wait there." Naruto then went to his room, and a few minutes later came back with a pokeball.

"Now, I'm not going to keep you in this all the time. This is just to make sure nobody can capture you." Latias nodded, and braced herself. Naruto then threw the pokeball, which struck Latias and sucked her inside. As soon as the ball hit the ground, it pinged immediately, signifying the pokemon within had been captured without struggle. Naruto immediately called Latias out of her ball and set the ball on the fireplace mantle beside Aurora's.

"There we go, welcome to the family Latias, now all you need is a name."

"Why would you give me a name? Wouldn't Latias suffice?" naruto just shook his head.

"Latias, a name has value, every time it's spoken, you're acknowledged. That's why I want to name you." Latias was speechless for a moment, then she smiled a small, but genuine, smile.

"Now what to name you. Oh, how about Crystal?" After mulling it over and testing it out, the newly named Crystal nodded in acceptance.

"Crystal it is then." Then he noticed the time, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Holy crap! I'm gonna be late, okay girls I got to get to work, or the old mans gonna chew me out for tardiness. Behave yourselves, got it." and with that Naruto dashed out the door, sprinting full tilt for Sandgem town. Crystal looked over to Aurora and was about to apologize for her words yesterday, when the Suicune beat her to it.

"I know what you're going to say, and there's no need. I forgave you as soon as my big brother did. Besides, it's all in the past now, so lets start fresh." Crystal smiled at that.

"Yeah, lets."

…...

**A/N:**

**Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand done. Now I do believe this chapter is of suitable length for you all. Sorry chapter one was so short, I had to fight tooth and nail to get out of that rut I was stuck in. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter Fave and review please.**

**Ad Idem = Of the same mind**

**Ad Infinitum = without limit**

**In Memoriam = In memory**

**Cor Unum = One Heart**

**Vie et Armis = By force and arms**

**Vale = Farewell**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A year had passed since Crystal had joined Naruto, and in that time, Naruto had kept his word and had been helping her get stronger with vigor. Today however, was an important day for Rowan's employees. Today, a budding trainer was coming to the lab to receive their first pokemon. Naruto always enjoyed watching the excitement of the newly minted trainers as they picked their starting pokemon. This day was going to be different however. Professor Rowan was in an important meeting today, so Naruto was in charge while he was away. Said blonde was walking to the lab, when he saw a girl worriedly scratching her head while looking at a postcard, which Naruto recognized as the certificate postcard that Rowan would send to new trainers.

"Hello," he said to the girl, which got her attention, "You appear to be lost."

"Oh, hello, I think you're mistaken, I'm not lost." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You were checking the map on the back of that postcard, and you had a look of worried confusion on your face. I'd say for a fact you're lost. The girl let out a sigh of defeat and hung her head. Naruto just chuckled.

"No need to look so down. It's obvious you're looking for Professor Rowan's lab. Seeing as I'm heading there myself, I'll lead you there." The girl perked up at this.

"Thanks," she said and walked beside Naruto, "my name is Dawn, and I'm going to be a top coordinator, just like my mom." Naruto had heard of contests and coordinators, but had never watched any, seeing as he wasn't a big fan of television.

"You sure you're up for it? The path of the coordinator is a difficult one. Sometimes it's even more difficult than being a regular trainer." Taking a glance at Dawn, Naruto saw that she had a look of determination in her eyes.

"Even if what you say is true, being a coordinator is something I've always wanted to do. I'm not going to back down just because it's difficult." replied Dawn

_'So she's determined to follow the path she has set for herself, and her convictions won't buckle from discouragement.'_ though Naruto to himself.

"Well then Dawn, I'd have to say you passed my little test splendidly." He said, much to Dawn's confusion.

"Test? What test." She asked, and Naruto smirked.

"I like to test new trainers this way, to see if their hearts are truly set on being a trainer or coordinator. You wouldn't believe how many people quit after the first month." the blonde replied, and Dawn nodded. Soon the two came up to Rowan's lab.

"Well Dawn, here we are." Said Naruto, and he led the girl inside, only to see the back wall window blown off, two of the three starter pokemon missing, the lab a war zone, and the two other assistants running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

"And just what happened here?" asked Naruto, and the assistants froze in fear.

"Gah, Naruto. We don't know what happened, but Chimchar and Piplup had started to fight, then the bird pokemon we were studying got agitated, and well the pokemon ran off."

"I'll go look for them." said Dawn, and made to run out the door, but Naruto held her back

"I would strongly advise against that. The forests behind the lab are filled with territorial pokemon, and you don't have a pokemon of your own for protection."

"I don't care, one of those runaway pokemon could be my future starter, I've got to find them." And with that she ran out the door before Naruto could stop her again.

"Stubborn girl, she'll make a fine trainer though." said Naruto, then he glanced to the space beside him.

"Crystal, follow her. Make sure she doesn't get herself in any dangerous situations." he said quietly, and in response, two glowing green eyes flashed into existence for an instant, then disappeared, and a rush of wind blew past Naruto.

"All right you two, help me get this mess cleaned up." ordered Naruto.

"But Naruto, what about the girl?" said one of the assistants, and Naruto smirked knowingly.

"I'll guarantee you she'll be back safe and sound, now get to work."

…...

(The events with Dawn play out exactly the same as the anime, so I don't really feel like going over it.)

"Okay Dawn, you may choose one of these three pokemon to accompany you as you begin your journey."

"Um, mister Naruto, shouldn't professor Rowan be doing this." asked Dawn confusedly.

"Normally yes, but he's busy in an important meeting with a colleague of his, so as his head assistant, I'm in charge while he's gone." replied Naruto, and Dawn nodded.

"Hmm, who to choose?" said Dawn as she looked over her choices. The Chimchar, much to Naruto's amusement, was jumping in place and saying he was the best choice.

"All right, I choose Piplup." said Dawn, bursting the Chimchar's bubble.

"A good choice, though I must warn you, Piplups are very proud pokemon, and require a firm hand when training them. Are you up to it, it's not too late to change your mind." In response, Dawn firmly nodded.

"I'm sure, I'm not going to give up because it's challenging." she firmly replied.

"Very well then. Here are five pokeballs to capture pokemon with, along with Piplup's assigned pokeball." Said Naruto, and handed Dawn a box of six miniaturized pokeballs.

"And this," continued Naruto, handing Dawn a pink rectangular object, "is a Pokedex, which will give you information on any pokemon you find. It can also scan your own pokemon and tell you its gender, and the moves it currently knows."

"Thank you very much mister Naruto. Come on Piplup, let's go." said Dawn, and ran out the door as soon as Piplup was on her shoulder.

"She's gonna go far, I can already see it." Naruto said to himself. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and at around three in the afternoon, professor Rowan came back to the lab.

"Ah professor, how was the meeting?" asked Naruto as Rowan came through the door.

"It shed some light on certain fields of research, though none I'm studying unfortunately. How did your day go Naruto? Did the new trainer come?" asked Rowan.

"Yes she did professor, and I must say, she's got potential." said Naruto.

"Did you go testing her Naruto? You know you've scared potential trainers off doing that." said Rowan, though he didn't sound that reprimanding. Naruto just smirked.

"I may have. Besides, the kids I scared off didn't deserve to be trainers with such weak convictions." he said. Rowan just grumbled, but Naruto knew the man agreed with him.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a trainer, Naruto?" The professor suddenly asked, and Naruto was surprised by the question.

"Um, not really actually. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be able to freely travel the region and all, but I've never really liked battling." Rowan merely raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have to battle to be a trainer Naruto, and if you wanted to travel, you could've done so." To this, Naruto shrugged.

"I like it here, and I think it would be strange if I just suddenly up and left on a whim."

"Actually, I had been expecting you to do it for quite sometime, you are after all, a very spontaneous and unpredictable person. Besides, you shouldn't be cooped up in a lab all day at your age, you need to enjoy what life has to offer. A sixteen year old boy like yourself needs to stretch his wings and roam free."

"But professor, I'm useful here. My gift is an extremely important asset to all the research you've been doing."

"True, but I can still manage without you here."

"What about money? I can't go roaming the region with empty pockets." Rowan seemed to think for a minute, then an idea came to him.

"All right boy, I think I have a solution that will be beneficial to all parties. Naruto, I am promoting you to the job of field researcher." Naruto's eyes widened in shock and curiosity.

"Field researcher? What does that entail?" he asked.

"To put it simply Naruto, you will be helping me in my field of research by collecting information out in the wild." replied Rowan, earning a look of puzzlement from the blonde.

"Isn't your chosen field the study of why pokemon evolve. I don't really see how I can gather such information out in the wild."

"You are partly correct Naruto. I am studying the 'why' of pokemon evolution, but I'm also studying the 'how' of pokemon evolution as well." This made Naruto even more confused.

"I see you're not following. Put it this way Naruto, why does a Pikachu, or an Eevee, evolve when exposed to a thunderstone? What is so special about a thunderstone that it makes these pokemon evolve, and why do these pokemon react to such a stone this way. These are questions I'm trying to answer Naruto, and this is what I want you to help me with. I know your a smart boy, and I'm too old to go roaming the countryside for these answers, so that's why I want you to do it." Naruto was speechless. He couldn't believe the professor was placing such an important job on him.

"Professor, I... I don't know what to say. I'm honored that you would have me do this for you, but why me? Surely there must be someone more qualified people that you can count on. I mean, I haven't been given any form of education in pokemon research, the only reason I'm so good at what I do here is because I can understand what pokemon are saying."

"Don't shortchange yourself Naruto. You haven't been educated in our field of work, true, but just because you haven't learned anything from a university doesn't make you unqualified. I've always seen you reading every book I have on the subject of pokemon. You have always paid rapt attention to my, and other professors lectures, and you're always looking up on all sorts of subjects related to pokemon. I'm pretty sure you are more qualified for this than anyone else." Naruto was silent, internally debating, then finally he spoke.

"Very well professor, if you believe me to be qualified for this, then I would be honored to help you." At this, Rowan smiled. Now Naruto had an excuse to travel and see the world, and at the same time help him gather critical research material for his studies.

"All right Naruto, come back tomorrow afternoon. That should give you time to pack everything you need, and for me to get all the equipment you'll need for your assignment." Naruto nodded and headed for the door, only for a bucket of water to come crashing down on his head, soaking him thouroughly.

"And that boy, was for gluing me to my chair last week." Rowan said with a grin.

"I'll get you for this old man, you hear me. Mark my words, you'll pay." said Naruto as he left for home. Once Naruto reached the woods, Crystal dropped her invisibility and started howling with laughter.

"Oh shut up." said Naruto, though he was giggling a bit as well. Soon the two reached their home, and headed inside.

"Pack your bags Aurora, the old man's sending me out into the world." said Naruto once he was inside.

"What do you mean, Naruto?" asked Aurora as she trotted inside the kitchen.

"What he means is," replied Crystal, "professor Rowan gave Naruto here a special assignment that can only be done out in the wild, so Naruto's got to travel around the region collecting data on how evolution works." Most of what the yellow latias said went over Aurora's head, but she started getting excited about the prospect of traveling, due to her species being extremely nomadic in nature.

"Ooh I can't wait! When are we leaving? Where are we going?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there sis. We'll be traveling all around the Sinnoh region, and we're leaving tomorrow. On that note, I got to get packing." With that, Naruto got a large traveling pack and started packing everything he would need for a long term trip in the wilds. About two hours later, Naruto had packed everything he thought would be necessary.

"Let's see here. Tent, check. Sleeping bag, check. Portable stove and fuel, double check. Cooking supplies and recipes, check. Pokemon care supplies, Check. Extra clothing, check. First aid and medicine kits, double check that one, I'd hate to have forgotten that. And finally, satellite phone, check. Okay, that's everything." said Naruto as he set his very full bag down. Dinner that night was pretty much all the perishable food in the fridge, as that had to be used up so it didn't spoil while he was away. When bedtime hit, Naruto stared up at the ceiling, excitement eating away at him, preventing him from sleeping. After finally managing to calm himself, Naruto's last thoughts before sleep took him were if what he was feeling was like what someone felt when they were about to start their pokemon journey.

…...

"Okay Naruto, this is the equipment you'll be using to gather the information I require." Said professor Rowan as he brought the equipment out for Naruto to see.

"All the equipment will feed the information to this laptop computer, which I know I've trained you to use." Naruto nodded in affirmation that he knew how to use it. Rowan then brought out a device that was spherical in shape, with tripod legs, and a miniature satellite dish mounted on it.

"This device, will allow you to take energy readings of the environment, which will be useful for gathering data on the electromagnetic fields of mt Coronet." Naruto nodded and listened intently as the professor explained each piece of equipment, from its function, to properly taking care of it. Once Naruto was properly taught what he needed to know, the professor then went into his office and came back with two things. The first thing he gave Naruto was his own pokedex. Instead of the regular design, this pokedex was jet black, with a gold pokeball symbol on the back.

"Now Naruto, this pokedex is different from the rest of the ones I hand out. Not only does it contain your identification, but it's programmed with information of all 649 species of pokemon, not just the 493 of the Sinnoh region. It also comes with a built in map and GPS, so it'll be helpful in getting you from place to place." Naruto took the proffered pokedex, thanking the professor for it. The next thing Naruto was given was six unassigned miniaturized pokeballs.

"Here you are Naruto, six pokeballs to start you off with. I know you dislike battling, but that doesn't mean you can't catch any pokemon to make friends with. It will be good for you to meet and experience pokemon of your own." Naruto nodded and pocketed the miniaturized capsules.

"Thank you very much professor." said Naruto, and handed Rowan his house keys.

"I'll leave these with you. Could you get one of your assistants to go over there every once in a while, and keep the place maintained? I'd hate to come home to a dust ridden house." Nodding and saying he would, Rowan took the keys, and with everything done and all goodbyes said, Naruto was out the door. Rowan watched him go as he headed off, then returned to his office. Knowing today would be the only chance in a long while the blonde would have to get back at him for yesterday, Rowan checked his office thoroughly for any signs of tampering. Finding nothing out of place, Rowan took a seat, and poured himself some coffee, downing the beverage in three gulps. Thirty minutes later, the poor man didn't have a snowball's chance on Stark Mountain.

…...

Naruto and his two pokemon were just heading down the road leading to Jubilife, when all the sudden,

"!" Ah, sweet vengeance.

"What did you do?" Aurora asked worriedly.

"Meh, I may have spiked the old man's coffee with a potent laxative. He was starting to look a little constipated lately." Both girls' jaws dropped.

"Brother, that was just cruel." said Aurora fiercely.

"How did you...? When did you...? I was with you the whole time and you never even set foot anywhere other than the main lab. How did you do it without me noticing?" asked Crystal in disbelief.

"Because my dear, I am just that awesome." said Naruto. _'More like I had a shadow clone sneak through the old man's window.'_

"Oh he's going to get you back for that brother." said Aurora, but Naruto just waved her off.

"Please, the old man won't be able to do anything other than work the toilet for at least two hours, and by then we'll be long gone." replied the blonde.

…...

Two days had passed since Naruto left, and he was currently cutting through a forest to avoid Jubilife. The reason he had left the beaten path was twofold. One, the route was a well used one so the risk of one of his two legendaries being seen was too high for comfort, and two, the seclusion of leaving the main trail gave him the privacy he needed to train his two pokemon. He may not like battling, but it never hurt to have his pokemon strong enough to deal with any threats. A rampaging Aggron, or worse, Tyranitar, would be much less dangerous if Aurora was strong enough to deal with them. He had Rasengan, but that required getting up close, which was generally a very, very bad idea concerning those pokemon. Currently, he was teaching Aurora a Unovan move called Scald, and was helping Crystal perfect Dragonbreath. Then he heard some bushes rustling, and the sounds of human voices arguing.

"Crystal, invisible, now." he said quietly, and returned Aurora to her ball. Crystal immediately had her feathers refract the light around her, cloaking her from the human eye. Soon, the bushes were parted to reveal three traveling trainers, and Naruto immediately recognized one of them.

"Dawn, that you?" Said girl looked up in surprise.

"Naruto? What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Research. So who's your friends?" The boy with the Pikachu on his shoulder came up to Naruto first.

"Hello, my name is Ash, from Pallet town. And this my buddy Pikachu."

"Hello." said the mouse pokemon. Then the dark skinned man came up to him.

"And my name's Brock. I'm studying to become a pokemon breeder."

"So what is it that you're researching?" asked Dawn.

"I'm researching the conditions of pokemon evolution."

"Conditions of evolution?" Ash asked, confused by the term.

"Yes, I'm basically trying to answer this question, why do pokemon evolve the way they do?" replied Naruto.

"I get it." said Brock, "You're trying to figure out why certain pokemon evolve by stone and such, instead of experience."

"Yes, that's right." said Naruto. "So why are you guys all the way out here?" Dawn elbowed Ash.

"Because clueless here got us lost." she said.

"I did not." Ash retaliated, only for Dawn and Brock to say otherwise.

"Anywho, if you head that way," said Naruto, pointing northward, "you'll get back on the path heading to Jubilife."

"Hey thanks." said Ash, and then his stomach let off a loud rumble.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," said Brock, "Why don't we stop here for lunch. That okay with you Naruto." Naruto was a bit torn. On one hand, the sooner these three were gone, the better, as Aurora hated being in her ball for long periods of time. On the other hand, if tried shooing them away or try to leave, they'd want to know why, else he would sound like a jerk.

"I'm okay with it, as long as it's fast though. I've got some important work that needs doing."

"All right then." said Brock, and started getting lunch ready.

"Hey Naruto, while we wait for lunch, lets have a battle."

_'Oh crap.' _ "Uh, sorry Ash, but I'm not one for battling." said Naruto, hoping Ash wouldn't press. Unfortunately, lady luck was not with him today.

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun. At least show us your Pokemon." Now Naruto was worried, Crystal he could hide, but there was no way he could hide Aurora. He couldn't go saying he had no pokemon, the pokeballs were right on his belt. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on perspective, a suitable distraction presented itself in the form of an extending mechanical rubber hand snatching Ash's Pikachu right off his shoulder.

"Not again!" shouted as he was pulled into the bushes, followed by three dark laughs. Suddenly a hot air balloon shaped like a meowth's head rose over the treetops. Inside were two people and a Meowth.

"Oh great, not you guys again." Groaned Ash.

(Since everyone's heard the motto I'm just going to skip it and save us the headache.)

"Hey, give me back my Pikachu!" Ash hollered up to the Rocket trio.

"Not a chance twerp, besides, when have we ever given back anything when you demanded it?" replied Jessie.

"So long suckers." the three chorused as the balloon rose higher."

"Hey, get back here!" Shouted Ash as he chased after them.

"Hey, where'd Naruto go?" asked Dawn as she looked around for the blonde, who was nowhere to be seen. Back with team Rocket, the three were gloating about their victory, when a voice startled them.

"I'd give that Pikachu back if I were you." said Naruto in a warning tone of voice.

"What the?" said the Meowth, "how'd you get up here?"

"Who cares," said Jessie as she held up a pokeball, "we'll just take care of him." But before Jessie could throw the ball, Naruto had a kunai held to hers and James' throats.

"One wrong move you three, and I'll end you. Got it?"

"Jessie, Jimmy!" cried Meowth in alarm. Being threatened at knifepoint was a new experience for these three.

"Careful Meowth, he means business." said James in panic.

"You, you really wouldn't, would you?" asked Jessie, and in response got the kunai pressed tighter against her neck.

"Try me." said Naruto coldly, and the three wisely fell silent.

"Now, you're going to set this balloon down and give that boy his Pikachu back, got it?"

"And what if we don't?" asked James in a weak attempt at defiance, only to get the kunai pressed hard enough against his neck to draw blood.

"Then I'll just kill you and do it myself." Naruto replied. Sufficiently cowed, the trio nodded, and got to work, Naruto making sure they didn't try anything. Back on the ground, Ash was shocked when the balloon land a ways in front of him. Running up to it, he was shocked even further when team Rocket handed him his Pikachu.

"Here you go," said James, "now can you please call your friend off."

"We enjoy our heads right where they are." added Meowth. That was when Ash noticed Naruto behind the three.

"Naruto? When did you get there?"

"Not important Ash. In my bag, there's a satellite phone, think you can ring up officer Jenny?" Now, Ash may have wanted to question why Naruto was holding team Rocket at knifepoint, but the chance to get rid of the unwanted tag alongs for good was too good to pass up. Ten minutes later, Officer Jenny had come on the scene, did the usual questioning, and booked the theives.

"Looks like team Rocket's carting off for good." the trio screamed as Jenny drove off with them.

"Well, that was exciting." said Naruto.

"Whoa whoa, hold it. What was that back there?" Ash questioned.

"What? Me getting behind them like that?"

"That, and holding them at knifepoint like that." said Ash fiercely.

"Whoa whoa, easy there. I just did that for intimidation."

"Was that necessary? It actually looked like you were going to kill them."

"Precisely, it _looked _like I was going to kill them, though I wasn't. They thought I was, and as such, did whatever I told them to to save their sorry hides."

"You looked pretty serious about it there."

"I know, but I have my reasons." Ash stayed silent, but nodded, and the two headed back to the rest of the group. When they got there, they were beset by Ash's friends asking if they were alright, and if they got Pikachu back. Ash and Naruto told them the whole story, Naruto stressing that his actions were for intimidation only, and soon the group was enjoying lunch. Just then, one of Naruto's pokeballs started to wiggle and shake, drawing the groups attention. Suddenly, it burst open, and out came Aurora.

"What's the big idea brother, you know I hate..." and then she realized she had an audience. All was silent, all was still.

"Oops." Then the questions flew.

"One at a time, one at a time!" Naruto hollered over the din.

"Is that really what I think it is?" asked Dawn.

"Oh man, now we really want to battle." said Ash.

"How did you manage to catch a legendary?" asked Brock. Naruto glared pointedly at his sister.

"I hope you've learned that whenever I put you in your ball, you stay in there until I let you out." Aurora looked ashamed and nodded. Dawn took this opportunity to bring out her pokedex. Flipping it open, she pointed it at Aurora, and the machine activated with a beep.

"**Suicune, The Aurora Pokemon. Legend says that Suicune can purify any body of water it touches. It races across the land as fast as the north wind." **Dawn was amazed that she was seeing a legendary pokemon, but then she noticed something.

"Hey, this Suicune looks different than the one in the picture." she pointed out.

"You're right. A Suicune's mane is usually purple, but this one's blue." said Brock.

"Yes, she looks different, yes she's a legendary. This is just fantastic, now we're royally screwed."

"Naruto, what's the problem?" asked Ash, and Naruto sighed.

"The problem is that now the information that I have a unique colored legendary is out. Soon it'll spread, and trainers and media reporters will constantly hound me. Then, some big time pokemon hunter will try and take her so they can sell her for a massive sum. That's my problem."

"Hey, we won't tell anyone, right guys?" said Ash, getting nods of agreement from his friends. Naruto just snorted.

"And how do I know you'll keep your word?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I've seen plenty of legendaries, and I haven't shouted their whereabouts to the high heavens." said Ash. "Besides, if I make a promise, I keep it." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"All right, you seem truthful enough, but if this gets out, I'll know who started it, and there will be consequences. Are we clear." Naruto's tone of voice promised those consequences would be followed through, and the three nervously nodded.

"All right then. I hope I'm not making a mistake. Now then, since you know about Aurora, I suppose I can tell you about my other Pokemon. Now I want you to hold any and all questions until I say. I don't wish to be bombarded with questions that are coming to fast to answer." The three nodded once more.

"Okay, Crystal you can drop the cloak." With that, the air beside Naruto shimmered, and Crystal returned to the visible spectrum, much to the group's shock.

"Okay, Dawn you go first." said Naruto.

"How did you get those two legendaries? They look to be your only pokemon, so how did you get them?" she asked. Ash took the time to use his new Sinnoh pokedex to check out the Latias. With a beep the machine responded.

"**Latias, the Eon pokemon. Latias' down has the ability to refract light, allowing it to become invisible. It has the ability to feel the emotional state of those around it." **Ash noticed that the Latias in the picture was red, but Naruto's was yellow.

"Hmm, the answer to that Dawn is not something I like talking about, and it's not something you'd want to hear." This drew looks of confusion from the other three, and Naruto decided to clarify.

"Three reasons. One, it brings up horrible memories for both Crystal and Aurora. Two, it would force me to admit to doing things that I don't like, but do. And three, it would make all three of you have nightmares for a good long while." Dawn paled a bit, and nodded.

"Okay, Ash you're next." Naruto continued.

"Can we battle later?" he asked, causing Naruto to chuckle.

"No we can't unfortunately. Knowing your hot bloodedness, and trust me, I know, you want to battle them because they're legendaries, and as such, must be powerful. I'll tell you right now that if we were to battle, you would win, easily. Aurora and Crystal may be legendaries, but Aurora is young, only three and a half years old, and she has very little battling experience. And due to Crystal's coloration, she has been alone almost her entire life and as such, never really learned how to battle." Ash deflated upon hearing that, and nodded.

"Okay, Brock your turn." said Naruto.

"How do you know Aurora's exact age?" asked Brock, and Naruto laughed.

"Because Brock, I've taken care of her since she was a pup. I won't go further than that, because that would get into how I got her, which as I told Dawn, I don't want to get into." Brock nodded at this.

"Now then, is everyone satisfied?" Naruto asked, earning him nods from the other three. "Good, Now remember, this stays between us. I'd like to stay longer but I've got work to do and research to undergo. Brock, thank you for the meal, it was the best I've had in a while, better than my own cooking at least." "Be seeing you then, Naruto." said Ash, "and don't worry, your secret's safe with us." Naruto smiled, and headed through the forest, having a feeling this wouldn't be the last he'd seen of that group.

…...

One week had passed since Naruto met Ash and company, and he was currently en route to Eterna forest. His reason, there was a strange rock there that caused evolution to trigger in Eevees. He wanted to study this rock to see why it caused evolution to be triggered. It took him the week to skirt Jubilife, seeing as he disliked heavily populated areas. Stopping in a secluded area in the woods, Naruto and his two pokemon decided to take a lunch break. Naruto had been training the two while they traveled, and he was quite happy with their progress. Aurora had mastered Scald, and had also learned Aurora beam, while Latias had learned Dragonbreath, and had also learned a Unovan move called Psyshock. As the three ate their lunch, the suddenly heard a scream. The three got up and hurried to the source, where they found a Ralts surrounded by several different ghost types, each having fun tormenting the poor pokemon. The Ralts was constantly getting hit by super effective attacks, and was getting more and more injured.

"All right girls, send those ghosts packing." said Naruto quietly, so as to not give away their location. Two attacks later, the ghosts were running for their mothers. Acting quickly, Naruto threw a pokeball at the banged up Ralts, which struck it and sucked it inside. It wiggled for a few moments, then pinged to signify a successful capture. Naruto snatched up the ball and headed back to camp, his two pokemon right behind him. Reaching the place where he left his things, Naruto brought out his medical supplies. Calling the Ralts out, Naruto started tending to it's injuries while it was unconscious. Once the Ralts had been bandaged up, Naruto let it rest. Forty five minutes later the Ralts woke up and looked around.

"What happened?" he asked, mostly to himself.

"You were being attacked by a group of Ghost pokemon, so I stepped in and got you out of there." replied Naruto, startling the Ralts.

"Whah, who are you? Where am I?"

"Whoa whoa, calm down little guy. You're at my camp. My name's Naruto." Ralt's eyes widened.

"Wait, you can understand me?" Naruto nodded.

"That isn't important right now, what is is making sure you're okay. Why were those ghosts attacking you?" At this Ralts sighed.

"They're a group of bullies that like to pick on weak pokemon here, though now they've gotten worse. Their new leader likes to not only smack us around, but he takes all our food from us. Many of us have had to leave because of it."

"I see. How long has this been going on for?"

"Quite sometime, though I'm not sure exactly how long." replied Ralts, and Naruto nodded.

"tell you what Ralts, when you've recovered, I'll help you get rid of those bullies, sound good?" asked Naruto, and Ralts nodded. The rest of the day was spent with Naruto training his two pokemon while Ralts watched and recovered.

…...

The morning sun shone brightly as Naruto made his way through the forest, with Ralts on his shoulder, guiding him to the ghost group's hideout.

"They should be just over there." said Ralts as he pointed in the indicated direction. Naruto followed Ralts' direction and soon heard the sounds of laughter and chatter. Quietly parting some bushes in front of him, Naruto saw a group of six different ghosts talking and laughing to each other. There was a Gastly, a Misdreavus, a Duskull, a Shuppet, a Drifloon, and a pokemon that Naruto did not recognize. Quietly taking out his pokedex, Naruto pointed it at the mystery pokemon.

"**Litwick, the candle Pokemon. While shining a ghostly light and pretending to be a guide, Litwick siphons away a victim's life force."**

"A Litwick huh." responded Naruto.

"That Litwick's the leader." replied Ralts, and Naruto nodded.

"Okay then, Crystal, Aurora, here's the plan." The ghosts were talking amongst themselves, how they had gotten a good haul and had been able to slap a bunch of weaklings around for sport, when all the sudden a Scald and Dragon breath attack came out of nowhere, taking out five of the six before they even knew what was going on.

"Guys!" cried Litwick in alarm, and Naruto stepped out of the bushes.

"This is why you don't go ganging up on people," said the blonde, "because you never know when someone might bring in some muscle to sweep out the trash."

"You're going down Litwick." said Ralts.

"Hmph, so the wimp got himself caught. Cute kid, but it's going to take more than you being trained up by a human to beat me." Naruto just smiled.

"Oh, but who said he was the one fighting you? Aurora, come on out." With that, some bushes rustled, and out walked Aurora, glaring fiercely. Litwick went beady eyed, and floated back as the Suicune prowled menacingly forward.

"Uh, can't we talk this over?" asked Litwick fearfully. Naruto took a thinking pose for a minute.

"Hmm, no. Scald now!"

…...

Thanks to Naruto's actions, the ghost gang had been cleared up, and all the stolen food had been returned. Naruto threatened the ghosts that should they ever start bullying again, he'd come back. As for Litwick, he was currently in one of Naruto's pokeballs, and was going to be spending some time with the blonde for some rehab. Naruto then came to the spot where he first met Ralts, and set the feeling Pokemon down on the ground.

"There, now all what's left is to unassign you to this pokeball, and you'll be free to go." said Naruto, and prepared to release him.

"Wait a minute." said Ralts, and Naruto stopped.

"Oh? What's wrong."

"Well you see, I... I want to come with you. I want to get stronger, and I can sense you're a good person, so I can I stay with you please?" Naruto smiled, and shrunk Ralts' pokeball.

"Sure thing. If that's what you want, then I'll definitely let you come with me." And with that, Naruto set Ralts back on his shoulder, and resumed his trek to Eterna forest.

…...

**A/N:**

**Okay, this was the longest chapter I have ever written so far. Anyways, every crossover I've ever read always has Naruto become a trainer, battle in the leagues, and all that. So I thought to myself, 'I want to make this different, but how?' At first I thought of making him a Coordinator, but that was pretty much the same as making him a trainer, and I don't think Naruto would be the type for contests. Then this idea hit, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. So I hope this answers your question of what Naruto would be doing. I also wanted to keep Naruto separate from Ash's group, because I've got some adventures planned only for Naruto, and I haven't watched the anime in a long while. Naruto will still cross paths with Ash though, seeing as there are some places that Ash will need to cross through where Naruto is working, like Mount Coronet. Oh, and I hated team Rocket and thought it best if Naruto got rid of them. Anyway, R&R please, and all flames shall be ground into a juicy pulp and mixed with my morning apple juice.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Two weeks had passed since Naruto had added Ralts and Litwick to his team, and during that time, he had made amazing progress with them. Ralts, whom he had named Solus, had learned three new moves; Double team, Teleport, and Confusion, rather quickly and had evolved into Kirlia, the process of which Naruto scanned for his research on the subject. Litwick, whom Naruto had named Shade, had laughed at Solus' new form, and never failed to mention he looked like a girl, much to the Kirlia's shame and ire. Shade had also come a good ways in progress. At first he disliked Naruto with a passion, but then he mellowed out after a while and accepted Naruto as his trainer. Shade had also mastered three moves; Will-o-Wisp, Hex, and Flame Burst, in very short order, and was working on a fourth, Shadow Ball. Currently, Naruto was taking a break from his traveling and was currently helping Shade with his Shadow Ball attack.

"Hey you," said a voice, "what kind of pokemon is that?" Naruto was thankful he had kept Aurora in her ball, seeing as they were on open road, and turned to face the person who had spoken. The person was male, and looked to be around twelve years old. He had dark purple hair and wore a dark teal shirt underneath a blue coat. The most notable thing about him though, was his face, especially his eyes. The look in his eyes reminded him too much of his old rival Sasuke's, though this kid didn't have the same intensity of his former teammate's.

"Oh, and why do you want to know?" asked Naruto.

"I've been to all the regions, but I've never seen a pokemon like that." said the boy.

"Then it's obvious you haven't been to all the regions kid." replied Naruto, making the boy bristle, "anyway, to answer your question, he's known as Litwick, a pokemon from the Unova region." The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Unova region? Never heard of it."

"Not surprising. It's a rather isolated region with its own unique ecology of pokemon. Many pokemon that we find common here, are most of the time extremely rare to see in the Unovan wilds." The boy had an interested look to his eyes at that.

"Hmm, interesting. Anyway, I'd like to have a one on one battle with that Litwick." Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest. On one hand, he never really cared for battle, but on the other hand, Shade and Solus could do with some battle experience against a trainer.

"What's your name kid?"

"It's Paul."

"Tell you what, make it a single battle with two pokemon and you're on." The trainer smirked.

"Fine by me." Soon all preparations were finished and the two were ready to battle.

"Chimchar, stand by for battle." called Paul as he threw a pokeball, and in a flash of light the fire type appeared.

"Bad choice of pokemon when going up against Shade. Oh well, you get the first move kid."

"Chimchar, use Dig!" commanded Paul, and Chimchar rushed to obey, and in seconds it was deep underground.

"Careful Shade, keep moving to throw it off." said Naruto, and Shade started floating from place to place, not stopping for more than a second. Soon Chimchar blasted out of the ground a little ways away from Shade.

"Flamethrower, now!" commanded Paul.

"Bad move. Shade let it hit you and retaliate with Heat Wave!" Shade allowed the Flamethrower attack to strike him, and seemed to absorb the flames, causing the ethereal flame on his head to burn much more fiercely. Then it breathed out an extremely hot wind, which smashed into Chimchar and sent him to the ground. Chimchar struggled to shake off the damage done to him and get to his feet.

"Get up." said Paul fiercely.

"I'm trying." Responded Chimchar, and Naruto narrowed his eyes, internally seething. Finally Chimchar managed to stand.

"Shade, use Hex!" commanded Naruto, and the Litwick zipped in front of Chimchar with impressive speed, and fired a bullet of ghostly energy into the opponent pokemon's stomach, sending him careening back to collide with a tree. Chimchar slid to the ground, defeated.

"Return." and a red beam sucked Chimchar back into his ball. "Worthless." he said as he clipped the ball back to his belt. Naruto was livid, but he didn't show it.

_'Jeez, his very personality's the same as that stuck up bastard. This kid needs to be tied to a chair and force fed some humble pie.'_

"Return." said Naruto and recalled Shade. Then he brought out his next pokemon.

"Solus, take him down." He called as he threw the pokeball, and out came his Kirlia.

"Hmph, Murkrow, stand by for battle." called Paul, and brought out his Murkrow.

"Sky attack, now." Murkrow smirked and took to the skies, cloaking itself in harsh light as it descended towards Solus.

"Hypnosis." called Naruto, and Solus' eyes took a crimson glow. Murkrow's attack suddenly halted, and the flying type crashed to the ground, asleep.

"Return." said Paul and recalled his Murkrow.

"I guess you win then." he said as he turned towards Floaroma. Naruto watched as he walked away.

_'I hope that kid gets thrashed, and thrashed hard.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

...

After packing up his equipment and recalling Solus, Naruto started heading to Floaroma town, cutting through secluded forests instead of taking the main road so as to let Aurora out of her ball. Aurora immediately went for a dash to get the aches from spending all that time in her ball out. As she ran, she heard two screams, one of pain, and one of terror. Turning immediately to the direction of the source, she dashed through the trees, her form a blur of blue. Reaching the source of the scream, Aurora saw something that made her blood boil. Three Houndoom had an Espeon backed into a corner; a small Eevee huddled behind it. The Espeon looked extremely beaten up, with large cuts all over its body, and one leg was twisted in an unnatural angle.

"Heh heh heh, nowhere to run now you two." Said the middle Houndoom. "Hey I got an idea, let's kill the kit while her brother watches, and do it slowly too." The Espeon snarled in fury, but the snarl turned into a pained cry when the Houndoom on the left stamped on his broken leg . Then, all the sudden, a wave of pure hate washed over the group, followed by the aura of an extremely powerful alpha. Slowly turning, the three Houndoom saw a Suicune walk out of the bush, murder burning in her eyes.

"You would kill a child, you would torture a family by slaughtering them in front of each other, all for amusement?" She asked, her voice dripping with venom. The three Houndoom could only whimper, paralyzed as they were by the Suicune's aura of dominance.

"F-forgive us, north wind." One of them stammered weakly.

"Forgive? Forgive!?, you would ask me to forgive you for attempting to kill a child for amusement. Cowards like you sicken me, but I am not without mercy. I will let you leave, and you will commit these acts no more, for if you do, no matter where you hide, no matter where you go, the wind will always find you, and will end you. Am I clear?" The three terrified Houndoom could only nod and made to leave, but Aurora stomped down on the middle one's tail , making him hiss in pain and halt.

"However, dark types like you are spiteful creatures, and would probably kill this family silently when I am gone. An example must be made, and you are it!" With that, she pounced on the Houndoom and proceeded to give him the most painful beat down of his life. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the Suicune ended her assault and kicked the downed Houndoom to his pack-mates. "Go, lest your fate be the same." The Houndoom grabbed their injured comrade ran for their lives, praying the Suicune wasn't following. Once they were gone, the crushing presence vanished.

"Are you two all right?" she asked the two fox-like pokemon.

"Y-yes, thank you north wind." said the Espeon, wincing in pain when he tried to move his leg.

"Stop. It's only foolishness to try and move with a broken leg. I will take you and your sister to a safe place for healing." said Aurora. Helping the Espeon onto her back, Aurora picked the Eevee up and quickly trotted back to Naruto. She would have liked to run, but she didn't want to aggravate her passenger's broken limb any further. After ten minutes of brisk walking, Aurora finally reached her brother, and was shocked when he already had all his medical equipment ready.

"Well come on sis, get him over here. Crystal already told me everything." Aurora wasted no time in getting the injured Espeon over to her brother. As carefully as he could, Naruto got the Espeon off his sister's back and laid him down on the medical tarp he had on the ground.

"Okay, let's see the damage." said Naruto as he checked the Espeon's injuries. After a few minutes, Naruto nodded to himself, then started bandaging the Espeon up. Once the wounds had been cleaned and dressed, Naruto turned his attention to the Espeon's broken leg.

"Alright then, all what's left to do is to fix that broken leg of yours. This will hurt some, but I have to see if the bone cleanly broke." The Espeon nodded and braced itself, and Naruto felt around the area of the break. Although he was being as gentle as possible, his actions still elicited pained whines. Finally, Naruto had finished.

"Alright, the break is clean, now I need to reset and splint it. Now this is going to hurt worse than you can imagine, so I'm going to have one of my pokemon use hypnosis on you." The espeon nodded, and Naruto called out Solus. Naruto gave the Kirlia his orders, and Solus used Hypnosis to send the Espeon into painless slumber. Naruto then immediately got to work on the broken leg, and after forty-five minutes the leg was dressed and the cast was in place.

"Whew, that should do it. All he needs to do now is keep off that leg and he'll be as good as new." Naruto then felt something rubbing against him. Looking down to his side, he saw the Eevee his sister had brought with the Espeon.

"Thank you so much for helping my brother. He's the only family I have." She said. Naruto smiled, and softly scratched the Eevee behind the ear.

"No thanks needed. I can never turn a blind eye to someone in need of help."

"Are you going to leave?" At this Naruto shook his head.

"I've got to stick around until your brother's leg is completely healed. I don't think you're strong enough to protect him and yourself from the dangers in the woods." Nodding her head in agreement, the Eevee went to where her brother lay and curled up beside him to sleep. Naruto let out a sigh and ran a hand through his spiky yellow hair.

"Man, stuck taking care of an injured Espeon, and grounded until he makes a recovery. What a drag."

….

Six weeks passed by quickly, but not quickly enough for Naruto's taste. Finally though, Espeon's cast could finally be removed. After his leg was freed, Espeon tested it, and confirmed that it was fully healed.

"Well, there you go. You're good to go again. It was fun hanging with you guys, but I've got places to go to and work to be done." And so, with a final farewell to the two, Naruto set of for Eterna forest. As the two watched Naruto leave, Espeon turned to his sister.

"It's not too late you know. I know you want to go with him, both to get stronger and to see new places, so what are you waiting for?" The Eevee was silent for a bit, then responded.

"But I don't want to leave you behind big brother. What if I never see you again? You're the only family I've got, I don't want to lose you."

"Sis, I'll be fine, I promise. I know you've always wanted to get strong and evolve. So don't worry about me, I'm sure if you ask Naruto he'll come back here so you can visit me." Eevee hesitated, then slowly went after Naruto, but soon stopped.

"Do you promise you'll be alright big brother?" She asked, and Espeon smiled.

"I promise sis. Now hurry up before he's gone." With that, Eevee raced after Naruto.

"Naruto, wait up." She called getting the blonde's attention. Naruto looked behind him, and saw Eevee running up to him.

"And what are you doing? Won't your brother be worried if you just run off on him?"

"It's okay Naruto, he told me to see you. The thing is, I want to come with you. I've always wanted to get stronger so I could leave the forest and evolve, and I want to go with you. Can you please help me become strong? I don't want to be someone big brother has to protect, I want to protect him as well." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Is your brother okay with this? I don't want to pull someone's family apart." Eevee nodded.

"He knows. In fact he encouraged me to go with you." Naruto nodded, then he pulled out a pokeball.

"Okay then, if you and your brother are okay with it, then welcome to the party." And with that, Naruto tapped Eevee with the pokeball, and she was sucked inside. It wiggled a bit, but soon pinged, showing the capture was successful. Naruto immediately let her out, and when she reappeared she shook her head to clear the dizziness.

"That felt really weird and uncomfortable." She said.

"Well you don't have to stay in it if you don't want to. Here, hop on my shoulder." Eevee graciously leaped up onto the blonde's shoulder and securely perched herself.

"Now then," Continued Naruto, "we need to give you a name. Calling you Eevee just won't do."

"How about Frost? I want to evolve into a Glaceon, so it would be good to have a name that matches what I'll become."

"That's a good idea. Alright then, your name is Frost. Now then, I've spent six weeks tending to your brother, and I'm almost out of supplies, so we got to get to Floaroma fast so I can restock." Crystal then resumed visibility beside Naruto, and Aurora dashed out from the bushes.

"Does this mean what I think it means brother?" Asked Aurora, her voice heavy with eagerness.

"Yup, speed run." Replied Naruto, and Crystal and Aurora had grins on their faces.

"Ok then ladies, on your marks, get set, Frost you might want to hold on for dear life, Go!" And with that the two legendaries and one human took off at crazy speeds. Naruto was using chakra to hypercharge his legs, while Aurora and Crystal used their species natural speed and easily outpaced him. Suddenly there was a huge boom and a whoosh, both sounds had come from ahead of Naruto. Fearing for his pokemon's safety he dashed as fast as he could go and came across an amusing sight. Aurora was on her back with her hindquarters in the air, an extremely dazed look on her face. Naruto immediately took pictures for blackmail material later, then went up to his surrogate sister.

"What happened to you sis?"

"Crystal go boom, went really fast, me fly, but crashed." Aurora managed to mumble out, too disorientated for coherent sentences. Holding in his laughter, Naruto returned Aurora to her pokeball and was soon racing through the forest at high speed once more.

….

What should have taken a week took only two hours at the pace Naruto had gone. Soon Floaroma town came into view and Naruto slowed down.

"Phew, made it in record time. You have fun Frost?"

"Ooooooooooogh." Groaned Frost, having almost passed out from the motion sickness.

"I'll take that as a yes. Now then, we need to book into a Pokemon Center and then I need to resupply." Navigating through the town, Naruto was looking for the pokemon Center when a voice spoke out of nowhere.

"Took you long enough." Said Crystal, who was invisible to hide herself from the populous.

"Says the girl who can go at supersonic speeds. You did quite a number on Aurora by the way. I got pictures if you're interested." Soon the three reached the Pokemon center.

"All right Crystal, you'll need to go into your ball for this. I'm going to drop you off at the Pokemon Center for a checkup while I restock. " Crystal was very hesitant, but after much reassurance from Naruto, she went inside her ball without a fuss. Naruto then entered the Pokemon center and walked up to the reception desk.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Asked Nurse joy, and Naruto handed her four pokeballs while Frost jumped onto the counter. "I just need a general healing done on my pokemon. I'll be back for them in a bit, I need to go restock my supplies. Could I also book a room please?"

"Most certainly," She said, and handed Naruto a key with a number on it. "That is your room key. Please come back anytime." And with that Nurse joy took the pokeballs and Frost and headed to the back. Naruto then left the Pokemon center and in five minutes was at the Pokemart. His supply run didn't take very long, and on top of all the essentials he got something for the girls on his team, knowing they'd love it. As he headed back the sun was starting to set, giving everything an orange glow to it. Soon he was back at the Pokemon Center, and received his pokemon from Nurse Joy. Naruto then headed up to his room. Once he was in and had set all his things down, he let out his pokemon.

"Okay everybody, you can all just cool down and relax. Now, I want Aurora to come with me please." With that Naruto grabbed a bag and headed for the bathroom, Aurora following. Once they were inside Naruto scanned the room. It had a sink, a toilet, and a shower room built to allow one to wash their pokemon as well as themselves. It wasn't built to allow something big like a Dragonite in, but Aurora and Crystal would fit in it just fine.

"All right Aurora, how 'bout I run up a bath for you?" At this, Aurora got excited. It had been quite a while since her last proper bath, and her fur had started to become dirty. Naruto stripped down to his swimwear, and went inside the shower room. Once he had the water at the right temperature, he had Aurora come in. Naruto then grabbed a bottle of shampoo made for the waterproof fur of water types and soon had the Suicune all lathered up. Aurora loved this part, and soon had relaxed completely as her brother massaged the shampoo into her coat, making sure to get everywhere. After making sure his sister was completely clean, Naruto started rinsing her off. Aurora reveled in the feeling of the warm water washing over her, taking away the dirt and sweat she had accumulated. Next, Naruto brought the shampoo back out, and started working on her large mane. Gently, he massaged the lather into the mane, starting at her horn structure then working outwards. Once her mane was completely clean, he washed the lather away and turned the water off. Aurora immediately shook herself, her waterproof coat and mane easily shedding the water, leaving her a bit damp, but relatively dry.

"Alright Aurora, you can leave. Now could you get Crystal to come in please?" Said Naruto, as he put away the shampoo. Aurora nodded and left the bathroom, and after a few minutes Crystal floated in. Like Aurora, Crystal loved baths, having been introduced to the heavenly experience after staying with Naruto. Naruto restarted the water, making it warmer than he did with Aurora, as Crystal loved her water very warm. Once Naruto was sure she was properly wet, he brought out a shampoo formulated for flying types with downy feathers. He then started to work the shampoo into her downy coat of feathers, making sure to not pull at any by accident, Naruto worked the lather into Crystal's head, paying special attention to her ears, which she absolutely loved when he massaged them. Naruto smiled when he heard the yellow Latias make a long cooing purr, meaning she was deeply enjoying his treatment of her ears. Once the lather was properly worked into all the feathers on her head, Naruto moved on to her neck and the rest of her body, his ministrations eliciting more purrs from Crystal. Once her upper body was dealt with, he worked on her wings and her lower body, being careful to avoid her more 'sensitive' areas. On her first bath Naruto had accidently brushed his hand on her womanhood, and almost had the offending limb bitten off. Crystal had been on his case about it for almost an entire month, not even letting him near her. After she had calmed down though, Naruto had profusely apologized, saying it was an accident, and Crystal forgave him. Now Naruto was always careful to avoid that spot. For her part, Crystal was in heaven. Soon she was entirely lathered, and Naruto started rinsing her off. Crystal felt a pang of sadness when she felt herself being rinsed off, knowing her bath was coming to an end. She loved baths because the close contact with Naruto made her feel safe and loved.

'_Is this what having a mate feels like?' _Crystal blinked at that stray thought. Where had that come from? Sure she cared about Naruto, and he cared about her, but to be mates? That just wasn't possible. Soon, she was completely rinsed off, and the water cascading over was shut off. Using her psychic abilities, Crystal gathered all the moisture off her body and threw it down the drain, leaving her completely dry.

"Okay Crystal, you're good to go. Could you tell Frost to come in please." Crystal nodded and floated out the door, and Frost entered a few minutes later.

"Okay Frost, you're getting a bath." At this, Eevee got an incredulous look on her face.

"You're going to tongue wash me?" She asked, and Naruto face faulted.

"No no no, heavens no. I'm going to wash you with water." Naruto replied, internally gagging at the thought of a tongue wash.

"That's even worse, the water is freezing cold." Whined Frost.

"Don't worry, I promise the water will be warm." Said Naruto. Frost was skeptical, but let Naruto proceed. Naruto soon got the water started, startling Frost as she had never been in a human dwelling, and as such had no idea on how humans lived. It shocked her greatly when water suddenly started spurting down from the showerheads in the walls. Turning the tap, Naruto checked the temperature of the water and found it satisfactory.

"All right Frost, come on in." Tentatively, Frost stepped into the shower room, and was surprised when the water hitting her was pleasantly warm instead of the frigid cold she was used to in creeks and lakes. Naruto then brought out some regular pokemon shampoo. Being a normal type, Frost's fur and skin had no special properties and thus no special needs. Therefore, all she needed was regular shampoo. Frost was deeply enjoying the feeling of warm water soaking her fur, when Naruto started massaging the shampoo into her fur.

"What are you doing?" asked the Eevee.

"Getting you clean." Was Naruto's reply. Soon he was working the lather into her fur over her whole body, paying particular attention to the ears, tail, and mane. After she was completely clean, Naruto rinsed her off, and shut off the water. Like Aurora, Frost shook herself to get the water out of her fur, however she was still quite damp, so Naruto dried her off with a towel. Soon she looked like a scraggly puffball, causing Naruto to laugh. Shaking her fur to get it to fall flat, she trotted out of the bathroom with a huff. Naruto chuckled and put all the bathing supplies away. Drying himself off with a towel so as not to wreck the carpet in his bedroom, Naruto went and grabbed his sleepwear from his pack. However, before he could return to the bathroom, there was a click as the bathroom door was locked.

"What the? Who went in?" Naruto asked.

"Solus did. He said if us girls were getting cleaned, why couldn't he?" Aurora replied. Soon the sound of the shower filled the room, but was soon accompanied by a much more horrendous noise. Apparently Solus liked to sing in the shower, and he was doing a very horrible, very off key imitation of Bugs Bunny.

"Arceus almighty, make him stop!" Aurora cried.

"Quick, somebody shut off the hot water!" Shouted Crystal.

"Argh, my poor ears!" Screamed Frost. Shade was the lucky one. He phased through the wall and out of the center, escaping the horror that was Solus' singing. The torture lasted for close to thirty minutes, then finally the tone deaf Kirlia was finished. After a few minutes he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Man you guys weren't kidding when you said that felt good. I feel like a new mon." Said Solus in contentment, then he noticed the glares.

"What? Was it something I said?"

"Girls, don't kill him." Was all Naruto said as he went to take his own shower, the cries of pain and screams for mercy silenced as he closed the door.

…

Crystal looked at her bedside digital clock, which read one thirty am. Ever since she had that stray thought in the shower, it kept plaguing her. Even now her thoughts drifted to what it would be like to have a mate. Someone who unconditionally loved her, and didn't hate her for the color of her feathers.

'_Like that'll ever happen. Every dragon only sees me as an ill omen that brings disaster as long as she lives. I'll never find anyone who'll love me that way.' _Crystal's gaze shifted over to Naruto. Soon her thoughts revolved around the young man. He obviously cared about her deeply, always making sure she was fed and comfortable. Crystal couldn't help but feel a growing warmness in her chest whenever she thought of her trainer. Naruto took care of her, yet asked for nothing in return. He wouldn't use her for battles if she didn't want to, and showed her more kindness and love than she had ever received amongst her own kith and kin.

'_In the year that I've known him, he's taken care of me because he sees me as family, not because I'm rare or unique, but because he cares for my wellbeing as a family member. Every time I think about him, I get this strange feeling in my heart. Every time he does something crazy I get scared rather than angry, and when he touches me, be it a hug or a petting, I feel safe in his arms, like I know that nothing will harm me while he's around. Why do I feel these things? Aren't these feelings things I should be feeling around a mate?' _Then her eyes widened as a thought came to her. _'Is it possible? Do I really see him as a…? But why? He's an idiot who rushes into things. Granted he has gotten better, but he's still done some very stupid things. And yet… he's done everything a mate would do for his lifelong partner. I can't believe it, I'm in love with him." _And with that thought in mind, everything made sense to Crystal. The way her heart would speed up when he smiled at her, the way she'd heat up when he held her. However, one thing ruined it all. _'It would never work. He's a human, I'm a pokemon. We can't be together that way, it's just not possible. Besides, I doubt he feels the same about me. He probably sees me as a sister figure. Even though I love him, I cannot be with him.' _Soon, Crystal's eyes closed, and she soon fell asleep, unaware of the single tear flowing down her face.

…..

It was now mid morning, and Naruto was exploring Floaroma town along with Crystal and Frost. However, they soon ran into a familiar group.

"Hey, Naruto!" Called a familiar voice. Naruto looked over to the source and saw Ash and his two friends Dawn and Brock run over to him.

"Oh, hello you three. What brings you guys here?" Asked Naruto.

"Oh how cute." Gushed Dawn as she started petting Frost.

"And what am I, chopped liver?" said Piplup, causing Naruto to chuckle to himself. Ash then answered Naruto's question.

"Well, Dawn found out that there's going to be a contest held here, and they also have someone who gives poffin making lessons. What about you?"

"Me? I'm heading for Eterna forest. There's a strange stone there that can evolve Eevees into Leafeon. I want to take some energy readings from it and compare them to Frost here so I can understand what triggers the evolution process."

"Oh I see. Well good luck with that then, Naruto." Replied Brock. Soon, the group parted ways and Naruto was heading out of town to Eterna forest, when suddenly a fruit stand collapsed. The cause of the problem was a small bipedal blue canine pokemon with a metal pad on the back of both hands, which were currently grasping an apple.

"Hahaha, See you later suckers!" The pokemon, which Naruto recognized as a Riolu, dashed down the road, the stand vendor in hot pursuit.

"Get back here you little mutt! You've been stealing from us for far too long." The Riolu only blew a raspberry at the vendor and just ran faster. What he didn't expect was to get psychokinetically grabbed and held in pace up in the air.

"Hey! Who's got me, let me go!" Exclaimed the Riolu in surprise.

"You know that stealing is not a nice thing to do." Said Naruto as he walked out of the shadows of an alleyway, Solus on his shoulder with his eyes glowing blue. The Riolu just stuck out his tongue.

"Why should I care? Now go away and take the girly boy with you." Solus saw red. Psychically manipulating a wooden paddle, Solus smacked it against the Riolu's backside, then again, and again. Each smack elicited loud yelps of pain drawing peoples attention, who thought it funny and justified that their little thief problem was getting publically flogged. Riolu was crying in pain, his hindquarters red and sore.

"(Smack!) Yowch! Please, no more. (Slap!) OW! I'll be good, I promise. (Whack) Waaah! Leave me alone you big bully!" Finally, Solus let go of the paddle, and dropped the Riolu onto the ground, who was in too much pain to move. Naruto then brought out a pokeball, and captured the Riolu within it. The ball wiggled and rolled, but held firm, and with a ping, the Emanation was captured, causing the people to cheer that the little nuisance had finally been dealt with. Naruto then made his way to Eterna, completely unaware of the feelings harbored in his closest friend.

…..

**A/N:**

**And done. To everyone who reviewed, thank you. It was your positive words that got me back onto this story. Like I said in Storming Unova, I'm currently busy looking for a new place, so updates will be slow as I have my attention focused elsewhere. Make no mistake though, I will not abandon my fics. So, Like it/Love it/Hate it? R&R please.**


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